Suction regulator having four modes of operation
A suction regulator arranged to be coupled to a source of partial vacuum and a patient circuit and which is operative in four modes is disclosed. A first mode isolates the source of partial vacuum from the patient. A second mode provides continuous regulated suction to the patient. A third mode provides intermittent regulated suction to the patient. The fourth mode provides unregulated full suction to the patient. The regulator includes a movable control knob for establishing the first, second, third and fourth modes and a detent mechanism holding the control knob in the position to select the desired mode. An interlock is also provided to prevent the control knob from being accidentally moved to the position establishing the unregulated full suction mode.
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This utility application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/881,744, filed on Sep. 24, 2013 entitled Suction Regulator Having Four Modes Of Operation, whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein and which is assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISKNot Applicable
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe disclosed invention relates to devices for a medical fluid aspiration systems and more particularly to intermittent suction regulators.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSuction controls are routinely used in hospitals to regulate the level of suction delivered from a central supply system to the patient. Patient safety requires the high vacuum from the central supply be regulated to a lower safe level and adjustable for any number of clinical needs. On its most basic level, suction is used to remove fluids and debris from body cavities and is employed in virtually any location where a patient is present. Modern hospitals employ central suction systems with distributed supply at the patient bed. Mechanical controls reduce the high vacuum levels present in the central suction system to lower levels safe for patients and suitable for the patient collection devices. Collection devices are typically plastic, disposable devices that are used to accumulate fluids and debris. The collection devices are located between the point of collection and the control device and serve to protect the piping system and manual controls from contamination by bodily substances.
The manual controls that interface high vacuum in the central suction system with the patient contact collection systems are typically reusable, mechanical devices. The construction of these devices makes them prone to retention of fluids that may harbor infectious agents. Unlike other fluidic systems in the hospital, such as oxygen, nitrogen, or medical air, the inlet to the suction system is proximal to the patient and may not be filtered. In addition to room air, caregivers unintentionally introduce foreign material into the flow paths of these devices. The devices also contribute to contact vectors for contamination.
A complete fluid aspiration device consists of a control or regulator that attaches to the hospital central suction system, e.g., a system for providing partial vacuum at a desired level, for applying safe levels of suction pressure, collection devices for the accumulation of fluids and air separation, tubing and patient contact items, such as a catheter or a collection wand.
Suction controls may require a safety mechanism that is unique to the clinical application. For example, gastric drainage typically employs an intermitting cycling of the suction pressure to guard against continual application of suction to the interior of the gastric space which could result in traumatic lesions and possibly bleeding. In particular, in evacuating fluids from the stomach area it is possible for the suction catheter to engage the stomach wall, thereby occluding the inlet of the suction catheter. In such event, it is desirable to have the vacuum draw of fluid from the stomach become discontinuous, to free the catheter from sucking against the stomach wall and damaging the stomach lining. It is also common for debris in the stomach area to occlude the inlet ports of a catheter and thereby restrict or impede fluid flow. Periodic and regular relief of suction pressure to atmosphere will discourage debris accumulation on catheter inlets. Because it is not always readily apparent when such occlusion occurs, suction regulators can be operated on a substantially ongoing or intermittent manner by periodic regular cycling of vacuum on and venting to atmosphere of the collection circuit. In other instances, intermittent regulators are provided that may be set to operate in either a continuously intermittent (on/off, on/off, on/off, etc.) mode, or may be capable of being set to optionally operate in a constant-on or in a constant-off mode. It is also known that because of the nature of fluids being withdrawn from the body of a patient, it is necessary to provide regulators that are capable of being sterilized between uses.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,056, whose disclosure is specifically incorporated by reference herein, and which is assigned to Boehringer Laboratories, Inc., the same assignee as the subject invention, there is disclosed and claimed an intermittent suction regulator, which is among other things particularly suited for gastric evacuation applications. That regulator includes a control mechanism for controlling the intermittent time cycle, with the control mechanism being isolated from the body fluids that are delivered to the regulator from the body of the patient.
Boehringer Laboratories, Inc. offers various suction regulators, some of which are constructed in accordance with its aforementioned patent. Those commercially available regulators also have three modes of operation. Those modes are: the “OFF” mode; the “CONTINUOUS” mode; and the “INTERMITTENT” mode. In the “OFF” mode the line that is coupled to the patient is isolated from the hospital's suction line and is thus at the ambient atmospheric pressure. In the “CONTINUOUS” mode the line that is coupled to the patient is at a regulated level of suction (e.g., 200 mm Hg.) that is provided continuously and is below the level of suction (e.g., 600 mm Hg.) provided by the hospital's suction line. In the “INTERMITTENT” mode the line that is coupled to the patient is at a regulated level of suction (e.g., 200 mm Hg.) but is provided intermittently, e.g., 16-20 seconds “on” and 8-10 seconds “off”.
While the intermittent regulators of the foregoing patents and those commercially available from Boehringer Laboratories, Inc. are eminently suitable for their intended purposes the never-the-less leaves something to be desired from the standpoint of functionality. In particular, for some applications, it may be desirable to enable the suction regulator to apply the full suction available on the hospital's suction line, e.g., 600 mm Hg., to the line to the patient. For example, if a device which is connected in the patient's suction line should become clogged, it may be desired to apply the full suction to that line to clear the device. Accordingly, a need exists for an intermittent suction regulator which also provides a mode of operation in which the full vacuum provided at the hospital's suction line is coupled to the patient's line. The subject invention addresses that need. In addition, hospitals and other similar institutions often desire standardization. Thus a suction regulator that satisfies all clinical needs would be welcome addition. The subject invention addresses that need as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a regulator for regulating suction provided via a line to a patient circuit, e.g., as part of a system for accomplishing the vacuum withdrawal of body fluids from the patient. The regulator basically comprises a housing having an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is arranged to be coupled to a source of partial vacuum, e.g., a hospital's vacuum line. The outlet is arranged to be coupled to the patient circuit, e.g., to a container for receipt of body fluids from the patient. The regulator is arranged for operating in any one of four discrete modes of operation. A first one of the modes isolates the source of partial vacuum from the patient circuit. A second one of the modes provides continuous regulated suction to the patient circuit, with the continuous regulated suction being limited to a level below the level of partial vacuum provided from the source of partial vacuum. A third of the modes provides intermittent regulated suction to the patient circuit, with the intermittent regulated suction being limited to a level below the level of partial vacuum provided from the source of partial vacuum. A fourth of the modes provides continuous full suction to the patient circuit, with the continuous full suction being at the level of suction provided by the source of partial vacuum.
In accordance with one preferred aspect of this invention the regulator includes a control member arranged to be moved to one of four discrete positions, each corresponding to a respective one of the four modes of operation. The regulator is arranged, e.g., it includes an interlock, to prevent the control member from being accidentally moved to the position corresponding to the fourth mode of operation. The regulator also includes a detent mechanism to hold the control member in any one of its first, second or third discrete positions.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like characters refer to like parts there is shown one exemplary embodiment of a suction regulator 20 constructed in accordance with this invention for connection to a source of partial vacuum, e.g., a hospital suction line (not shown) to apply suction when desired and in a manner desired to a patient circuit to which the regulator is connected. The suction regulator 20 has four discrete modes of operation, which will be described in considerable detail later.
In the exemplary embodiment shown herein the regulator 20 is connected to a patient circuit in the form of a patient fluid drainage system 10 (
It must be pointed out at this juncture that the exemplary regulator 20 (or any other regulator constructed in accordance with this invention) can be used in other applications than that shown in
The suction regulator 20 is best seen in
The suction line port 52 serves as the means to which the conduit or line 18 from a source of partial vacuum, e.g., the hospital's suction line, may be connected to the regulator 20. The patient line port 56 includes a connector 58 for connection to the conduit 16B. In the exemplary embodiment of the system shown in
The regulator 20 is arranged to be operated in one of four discrete modes of operation. The first mode of operation is denoted as the “OFF” mode and is established by rotating the control valve knob to a position wherein indicia bearing the word “OFF” are aligned with a mark (indicium) 60 (
The second mode of operation is denoted as the “CONT” (abbreviation for “continuous”) mode of operation. The continuous mode of operation is established by rotating the control valve knob 30 to a position shown in
The gauge 30 serves to display the amount of suction being applied to the patient when the regulator is in any operative mode. In the exemplary embodiment of the regulator shown, it is constructed similarly to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,239, which is also assigned to the same assignee as this invention and whose disclosure is also specifically incorporated by reference herein. It should be pointed out that other types of gauges can be used in lieu of the gauge 30.
As best seen in
The third mode of operation is denoted as the “INTERMIT” (abbreviation for “intermittent”) mode of operation. The intermittent mode of operation is established by rotating the control valve knob 32 to a position shown in
The dashpot assembly 26 serves to dampen the reciprocation of the spool when the regulator is operating in the intermittent mode. To that end, it includes a piston 64 that is disposed in a hollow portion 66 of the housing opposite to the control valve knob 32. The piston is mounted on the end of the spool 40. The structure and operation of the components making up the regulator for establishing the two phases of the intermittent mode will be described later with respect to
The fourth mode of operation is denoted as the “LINE” mode of operation. The LINE mode of operation is established by rotating the control valve knob 32 to a position shown in
Attention is now directed to
Operation of the regulator in the continuous (“CONT”) regulated mode will now be described with reference to
Operation of the regulator in the unregulated line vacuum mode (the “LINE” mode) will now be described with reference to
Operation of the regulator in the intermittent (“INTERMIT”) regulated mode will now be described with reference to
Movement of the piston to the down position (left position shown in
As best seen in
Notwithstanding the operation of the detent mechanism to hold the control knob in any one of the “OFF”, “INTERMIT” and “CONT” positions, the regulator 20 is preferably arranged to prevent that knob from being rotated to the “LINE” position to ensure that the regulator cannot be accidentally placed in the “LINE” mode. To that end, the regulator includes an interlock associated with the detent mechanism. In particular, the interlock includes a ledge 102 located at one end of the arcuate recess 98. The bottom surface of the arcuate recess at the ledge 102 is disposed above the bottom surface of the portion of the arcuate recess where the dimpled recesses 100 are located. Thus, the portion of the arcuate recess 98 containing the dimpled recesses 100 is deeper than the portion of the arcuate recess at the ledge 102. The end of the shallower (ledge) portion of the arcuate recess 98 serves as a stop which defines the “LINE” position for the control knob 32. The control knob 32 is arranged to be pulled or moved outward in the direction of the arrow shown in
To return the regulator from the line position to any one of the “OFF”, “CONT” or “INTERMIT” positions all that is required is to rotate the control knob in the opposite direction to cause the tapered end of the plunger to slide off of the ledge portion of the arcuate slot 98 and into the deeper portion of that slot. The knob can then be rotated to bring the plunger 92 into alignment with any of the dimpled recesses 100 at the desired mode of operation position.
Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.
Claims
1. A regulator for use in regulating suction provided via a line to a patient, said regulator comprising a housing having an inlet, and an outlet, said inlet being arranged to be coupled to a source of partial vacuum, said outlet being arranged to be coupled to a patient circuit, said regulator being arranged for operating in any one of four discrete modes of operation, a first one of said four discrete modes of operation isolating the source of partial vacuum from the patient circuit, a second one of said four discrete modes of operation providing continuous regulated suction to the patient circuit, said continuous regulated suction being limited to a level below the level of partial vacuum provided from the source of partial vacuum, a third one of said four discrete modes of operation providing intermittent regulated suction to the patient circuit, said intermittent regulated suction being limited to a level below the level of partial vacuum provided from the source of partial vacuum, a fourth of said four discrete modes of operation providing continuous full suction to the patient circuit, said continuous full suction being at the level of suction provided by said source of partial vacuum.
2. The suction regulator of claim 1 wherein said regulator includes a control member arranged to be moved to respective first, second, third and fourth positions, said first position corresponding to said first of said four discrete modes of operation, said second position corresponding to said second of said four discrete modes of operation, said third position corresponding to said third of said four discrete modes of operation, and said fourth position corresponding to said fourth of said four discrete modes of operation, whereupon said regulator operates in the mode of operation associated with the position to which said control portion is moved.
3. The suction regulator of claim 2 wherein said regulator additionally comprises an interlock arranged to prevent said control member from being accidentally moved to said fourth position.
4. The suction regulator of claim 3 additionally comprising a detent mechanism to releasably hold said control member in any one of said first, second or third positions.
5. The suction regulator of claim 4 wherein said detent mechanism comprises a spring biased plunger and a plurality of recesses, each of said recesses being arranged to receive said spring biased plunger to establish a respective one of said first, second, and third positions.
6. The suction regulator of claim 3 wherein said interlock comprises an arcuate recess and a spring biased plunger, said arcuate recess having a first portion of a first depth and a second portion of a second depth, said first depth being greater than said second depth, said spring biased plunger being located in said first portion of said arcuate recess when said control member is in one of said first, second or third positions, said control member being arranged to be pulled away from said housing to enable said spring biased plunger to be located in said second portion of said arcuate recess at said fourth position.
7. The suction regulator of claim 6 wherein said control member comprises a rotatable knob.
8. The suction regulator of claim 7 wherein said rotatable knob is spring biased to resist being pulled away from said housing.
9. The suction regulator of claim 2 wherein said control member comprises a rotatable knob.
10. The suction regulator of claim 2 additionally comprising a detent mechanism to releasably hold said control member in any one of said first, second or third positions.
11. The suction regulator of claim 10 wherein said detent mechanism comprises a spring biased plunger and a plurality of recesses, each of said recesses being arranged to receive said spring biased plunger to establish a respective one of said first, second, and third positions.
12. The suction regulator of claim 2 wherein the patient circuit is arranged for withdrawing body fluids from a patient and wherein said outlet is arranged to be coupled to a container for receipt of body fluids from the patient.
13. The suction regulator of claim 1, wherein said regulator is arranged for adjusting the level of said continuous regulated suction to a desired level below the level of partial vacuum provided from said source of partial vacuum.
14. The suction regulator of claim 13, wherein said regulator is arranged for adjusting the level of said intermittent regulated suction to a desired level below the level of partial vacuum provided from said source of partial vacuum.
15. The suction regulator of claim 13 additionally comprising a gauge to provide a visual indication of the level of said continuous regulated suction.
16. The suction regulator of claim 1, wherein said regulator is arranged for adjusting the level of said intermittent regulated suction to a desired level below the level of partial vacuum provided from said source of partial vacuum.
17. The suction regulator of claim 16 wherein said intermittent mode of operation comprises an “on” phase during which regulated suction at a desired level below the level of partial vacuum provided from said source of partial vacuum is delivered to the line to the patient and an “off” phase during time the source of partial vacuum is isolated from the line to the patient and that line is vented to the ambient atmosphere, said regulator being adjustable to establish the duration of said “on” and “off” phases.
18. The suction regulator of claim 16 additionally comprising a gauge to provide a visual indication of the level of said intermittent regulated suction.
19. The suction regulator of claim 1 wherein said intermittent mode of operation comprises an “on” phase during which regulated suction at a desired level below the level of partial vacuum provided from said source of partial vacuum is delivered to the line to the patient and an “off” phase during which the source of partial vacuum is isolated from the line to the patient and that line is vented to the ambient atmosphere, said regulator being adjustable to establish the duration of said “on” and “off” phases.
20. The suction regulator of claim 1 wherein the patient circuit is arranged for withdrawing body fluids from a patient and wherein said outlet is arranged to be coupled to a container for receipt of body fluids from the patient.
Type: Grant
Filed: Aug 12, 2014
Date of Patent: Aug 16, 2016
Patent Publication Number: 20150088068
Assignee: Boehringer Technologies, LP (Phoenixville, PA)
Inventors: Steven C. Moulden (West Chester, PA), John Karpowicz (Chester Springs, PA), Allison Lloyd (Norristown, PA), Kevin P. Klocek (Wynnewood, PA)
Primary Examiner: Manuel Mendez
Application Number: 14/457,728
International Classification: A61M 5/48 (20060101); A61M 1/00 (20060101);